IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Marco Polo : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
I g4.
~
THE DESCRIPTION OF THE WORLD. INCENSE & SKINS IN TANA couches and cushions are made there so beautiful, embroidered with gold drawn VB through a gauge, that they are worth quite six marks1 of silver each. And of those z mats of which I have told you they make some of them which are worth quite ten marks of silver. And what shall I tell you about it? You may know quite truly that in this kingdom works of embroidery of leather' arc better made [89c] and more z cunningly and with greater skill than is done in all the world beside, and those which R z are of greater value. Now we have told you all the facts of this kingdom in order, & then we will depart from it and will tell you of the others in front, and will tell you of a kingdom which is called Tana.
HERE HE TELLS OF THE KINGDOM OF TANA. Tana is also a great kingdom TA when one leaves Goçurat & goes by sea toward sunsetting, very great and VA good & like the one above. •And let toward sunsetting be understood, because TA Z Master Marc Pol was then coming from toward sunrising3 and we are told. of the lands which R
he found •with regard to his steps and passage. . And they have a king also for themselves z v TA
and pay tribute to none. And they are idolaters and have a language for themselves. FB
Pepper does not grow there in great abundance nor other spices as they are in those z
other provinces of which we have told you further back. Incense enough grows there v
on trees but it is not at all white but brownish.4 Great trade is done there and ships VB
and merchants go there in plenty, for there arc carried away thence skins made up
in many fashions very good and beautiful. And again buckrams in plenty and good
are taken thence and cotton likewise. And the merchants who come there with their z
ships bring and carry in with them several things, these are gold, silver, and brass, z z
and many other things which are necessary to the kingdom, and carry away of those
goods of the kingdom from which they trust to make profit and gain. And again z
I tell you another thing which is not good, for I tell you that very many corsairs z come out from this kingdom also, who go about the sea doing great harm to the z merchants. Moreover I tell you that it is by the will of the king, and they share with FB the king, for he has made this agreement with those who go on cruise, namely that z the corsairs must give him all the horses which they take. And you may know that they take them often. For, as [89d] I have told you before, the king has no horses, FB
.185.
I uauat.vi.mars Read perhaps nallant (FB: uallent), cf. ualent just below. B.: valent
2 se labore roiaus dere usse de cuir Z: melius laboratur de operibus suendi (p. xcii) R: si lauora meglio di opere da cucire The version follows B.'s emendation, which is based on Z: se labore iniaus des euvre de cuir It seems that the original of Z must have misunderstood cuir, or that cuir is part of the corruption of the present text of F. The only uncertain letter is the u of usse: the two strokes are far apart and are as tall as the ss which follows them.
3 V: et queste se intende in verso ponente per the in quella volta io vegniva de leuante
4 Z, V: "black"
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